Is Your Business Ready for the Future of Work?

Take a good look at your office building, because in just a few years, it could become a thing of the past.

The end of the office building will bring with it the end of the traditional 9 to 5 employee, and if you look carefully at workplace trends today, you’ll see that the evolution of work is already happening.

Could Your Business Use a Change?

The programs we use and the way we access them has changed quite a bit in the last five years, and the notion of working in the cloud has evolved from dubious to commonplace. It’s rare to find a worker who doesn’t access at least one program via an internet browser, and everything from email to file share can be done from a mobile phone. What’s more, businesses are increasingly allowing employees to work outside of the office using their own devices. Some employees are even allowed to schedule their work outside of normal working hours.

So what does that mean for the office building? What was once the traditional perimeter—both for IT security and for employee productivity—is no longer a necessary barrier. Security can live in the cloud, too, and employees? They’re often more productive at home than in the office.

Not having an office space has its benefits, too. Employees often like the flexibility, and there are obvious savings costs on physical space. Even a move toward office sharing can help attract new employees and retain existing employees looking for a better work/life balance.

How to Make the Change

If you’re ready to make your workforce more mobile, here are a few strategies to help your business sky rocket into the future:

Allow employees to work from their own devices inside and outside the office – You may already notice employees asking to use their personal phone for work purposes. The future and present BYOB movement is transforming phones as computers. With mobile devices, your employees will be able to use any device they chose to get their jobs done more efficiently and effectively. Just be sure you have a mobile device management policy in place to protect your sensitive corporate data.

Have flexible work hours – The future employee is looking for work where they can accommodate getting more done on the go. The 9-5 work day doesn’t work for employees who are traveling to meetings and attending after hour events. Give your employees more free rein to focus on getting their job done, rather than sitting in an office and waiting for the clock to hit 5.

Use collaborative technologies– Instead of hoarding information, have cloud sharing tools in place where employees can collaborate ideas with one another. This will help circulate the work flow and allow employees to be more creative in their work. Employees will be encouraged to share their visions and that can turn into a new product, service, or opportunity you never thought about.

Focus on more outputs – Are you more focused on what your company is producing or are you focusing on what is coming in? Even though you want to see deals coming in after each proposal packet you send out, it’s important to start understanding that the MORE information you put out the better traffic you will gain. Be patient, and keep producing content!

Be Social – The future employee is not likely to find your business if you’re not on social media. Think of how many people have become successful from Twitter, YouTube and Facebook? Now, your company can do the same and employees will benefit from sharing company news and attracting more followers to your webpage. This will increase your brand awareness, legitimize it, and improve customer service.

Give employees additional learning opportunities – Rather than have your employee watch a presentation on Technology 101, send them to a technology conference or seminar. Here, they can appreciate the organization’s business goals and have a chance to showcase their networking skills for your company’s added benefit. Employees are more likely to stay at your company if an improved level of support is provided.

Contact us here to learn more about moving your business forward with technology.